Stage Production

Every weekday afternoon and some weekends, the magic of the theater actually happens in the scene shop and on the stage of Oates Theater.

This is where the after-school activity of the set-building crew, affectionately dubbed Crüe (referencing the 80s band, Motley Crüe), gathers to use a variety of power tools, hammers and saws to construct the sets for the school’s theatrical productions. For two hours a day, students are put to the test with demanding physical tasks and extreme mental focus.

This experience allows students to create what becomes the backdrop of the school’s extremely popular productions and, ultimately, helps to tell the story with a transformative power of the stage and add emotional accents to building materials. Given what is seen by the audience, but rarely explained, it is the words from the members of Crüe that really reveal what it means to be a part of the Crüe. Junior Austin Jupe says, “I love it because it's a beautiful and rare thing when a group of people come together on their own will to fulfill a common goal.” This group of students finds camaraderie in what many people enjoy watching on home improvement shows, working “from scratch” as Freshman John Fernandez says, as an elite group of futures engineers, architects and artists!